【News】Japan’s strong demand for yogurt to increase import quota of skimmed milk powder by 2.6 times in fiscal 2017 (May 26, 2017)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on May 25 that an import quota for skimmed milk powder has been expanded to 34 thousand tons in fiscal 2017, which is 2.6 times larger than the initial plan. Import of the skimmed milk powder under the current access commitment was fixed at 13 thousand tons for the fiscal year 2017 by MAFF last January, which is now added with 21 thousand tons. Its annual import in fiscal 2017 will be the third largest in past 29 years since 1989 when the Japanese “Heisei” era started. Officials of MAFF’s division of milk and dairy products explained the background of an … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on 【News】Japan’s strong demand for yogurt to increase import quota of skimmed milk powder by 2.6 times in fiscal 2017 (May 26, 2017)

【News】Japan’s fiscal 2016 Agricultural White Paper emphasizing necessities of “structural reforms” (May 24, 2017)

The Japanese government approved an Annual Report on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in Japan for the fiscal year 2016 or “White Paper on Agriculture” at its cabinet meeting held on May 23. According to the White Paper, the total number of commercial farm households declined to 1.33 million in 2015, showing a 32-percent reduction in the past ten years. The Agricultural White Paper has expressed concern that the base of agricultural production has been continuously undermined, emphasizing necessities of reducing prices of farm inputs as well as accelerating structural reforms in processing and distribution industries. The Paper also touches upon future challenges to be addressed by the Japanese agriculture … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on 【News】Japan’s fiscal 2016 Agricultural White Paper emphasizing necessities of “structural reforms” (May 24, 2017)

【News】Steam whistle echoes through the Fukushima rice fields (May 21, 2017)

Billowing black smoke, a steam locomotive pulling passenger cars ran through the rice fields in the Aizu Basin in Fukushima Prefecture on May 20, as the region entered a rice planting season. The locomotive, named Shinryoku meaning fresh verdure in Japanese, carried 250 passengers for a 60-kilometer, two-and-a-half-hour ride between Aizuwakamatsu and Aizukawaguchi stations of JR Tadami Line, as a part of a special event held over the weekend to ride on the train. The train passed by the shining water-filled paddy fields reflecting the early summer sky, blowing steam whistles as it wound through the basin known as the major production area of rice varieties such as Koshihikari, Hitomebore … Continue reading

Posted in Others | Comments Off on 【News】Steam whistle echoes through the Fukushima rice fields (May 21, 2017)

【News】Fukushima village hit by the nuclear crisis sets on wine production to bring back former residents (May 16, 2017)

In an effort to revitalize itself from the 2011 accident at the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the village of Kawauchi in Fukushima Prefecture has begun growing grapes in a bid to start a wine business and create employment opportunities in the area. Many former residents have not returned even after the evacuation order which had been issued on a part of the village was completely lifted in June last year. To restore the community and encourage more people to come back, the village hopes to start producing wine before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics so it can be promoted at home and abroad. Rows of young … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on 【News】Fukushima village hit by the nuclear crisis sets on wine production to bring back former residents (May 16, 2017)

【News】French government to invite 5 Japanese teachers of agricultural high schools at Paris and Arras in northern France (May 23, 2017)

Five teachers of agricultural high schools will leave Tokyo on May 29 for Paris to visit agricultural high schools in France in a one-week itinerary. These teachers have been selected from among 40 applicants to an interaction program that is first sponsored by the government of France aiming at promoting exchanges of agriculture-related persons between France and Japan on a long-term basis. The Japanese governmental agencies, especially the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) have been cooperative with the French government sponsoring this new project. The participants in the one-week trip to France plan to visit three agricultural … Continue reading

Posted in Others | Comments Off on 【News】French government to invite 5 Japanese teachers of agricultural high schools at Paris and Arras in northern France (May 23, 2017)